MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

Conclusions
Management of the consequences of the move was left to individual
managers. Managers themselves seem to have been aware of the
contribution which a strategic approach might have made and, with
hindsight, were able to reflect on the process.
‘Meaningful’ Managerial Actions
Merger Management
Although the Executives of the merging unions had listened to Lord
McCarthy’s advice to display generosity of spirit, this did not always
manifest itself. Similarly, senior managers were aware of the cultural
issues involved in the merger, but, in addition to issues concerning the
head office space discussed above, engaged in little explicit merger
management activity. Insofar as it occurred, it was the responsibility of
individual managers. Even in 2002, seven years after the merger,
managerial communication was seeking to discourage staff from
engaging in discourse relating to old union cultures. The new
management team has strategies for tackling these issues – including
the implementation of the recommendations of the Equality and
Diversity report which touched on these issues.
Managing by Information
External examination of management processes reported little
evidence of a consistent approach to managerial communication and
managers did not identify this as a key task despite some engaging in
communication processes. A commitment to improve this, as part of an
Investors in People process has been made in the Strategic Plan,
which implicitly recognises its importance as a managerial process.
Managing through people
This is the subject of another commitment in the Strategic Plan. The
evidence suggests that managerial practice in this area is at best
inconsistent, despite some managers giving a great deal of thought to
how they relate to their people. Connections between the idea of
‘fairness’, which provides some moral support for the way trade union
managers engage with the world, are not usually being made. The idea
that managing people to get the best out of them may involve some
sort of sanction or monitoring, given the cognitive rules relating to the
problematic nature of management, probably accounts for the historical
lack of any systems to enable this to be done. This may also account
for the lack of management training made available, although there is
some evidence that staff development generally is possible, if not
systematic.
Similar trade union experiences may have a bearing on the lack of
comfort displayed in the concept of team working. This has been a
bugbear for many CWU members for many years and that must act as
a constraint on managers wholeheartedly embracing the language and
practice of teamworking. Team meetings do take place, but they do not
seem to be particularly common although the word is used in
connections with groups of staff.
128